


Crossguard: Year One (Prologue + Chapter 1)

by ZARKWARTZ



Series: Crossguard: Year one [1]
Category: DCU, DCU (Comics), Green Arrow (Comics), Superman (Comics)
Genre: Chapter 1, Chapter one, Chaptered, Origin Story, Original Character(s), Other, POV Original Character, POV Third Person, Prologue, Story Arc, non-canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2020-04-07 04:25:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19077442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZARKWARTZ/pseuds/ZARKWARTZ
Summary: Crossguard is my attempt to introduce a modern-day Spell-sword into the realm of superheroes. for those who don't know what a Spell-sword is, it is a magic user who is adept in sword combat. At first, I wanted to make the character a Marvel Character because most of my friends know the Marvel comics better and because of how interconnected the Marvel world is with each other. Upon thinking about it, the fact that DC comics normally have one Hero per city fits better into what I wanted to write. A self-contained OC hero origin story. this is gonna become my pet project to help me improve my storytelling as a hobby as well as teach me world building and character creation/Arc construction.Tl;dr This is a self-contained story set in the DC universe, so don't expect Batman to rock up out of no-where.This is the first chapter of Blake Denver's story and I hope you stick around as I continue to write it in the future-ZARKWARTZ





	Crossguard: Year One (Prologue + Chapter 1)

**Author's Note:**

> I should Quickly Note some Ages before we begin
> 
> Olivia: 16
> 
> Blake: 22
> 
> Jerome: 48
> 
> Catherine: 46

**Prologue**

‘Olivia! Olivia where are you going?’ called a shocked voice from behind. The girl didn’t respond, only one goal was in her mind and nothing was going to stop her from chasing that goal.

 

She had Black hair, long enough that reached just below her shoulder blade, with brown eyes that in most other situations would be considered warm and comforting. But at that moment, her soft features had a hard edge. She didn’t believe he was alive. She wasn’t going to listen to her mother, much less her new father. She had to see her brother to believe he was alive.

 

The sixteen-year-old girl wasn’t going to let anything get in her way. She had grabbed the keys to her step-father's car and started the engine. Olivia didn’t have her licence yet, she was still learning to drive, but she had enough experience to know how to drive the vehicle without crashing it. At top speeds, she raced through the dark streets as thoughts raced through her mind.

 

Soon Olivia stopped at her first set of red lights and took a second to breathe, watching it the cold night air.

‘Okay,’ she whispered to the cold air before gathering her thoughts. ‘So three years ago, Blake disappears one day after school. After the police fail to find Blake, dad loses his shit and…”

 

Her train of thought is quickly interrupted by the beeping of a car behind her. She jumps a bit in her seat and realises the light is green and starts driving again, mentally preparing herself for the next part of the story.

At her next red light she continues talking to herself, ‘dad loses his shit and… and goes out to find Blake.’ the light turns green and she continues to drive, feeling tears building up close to her face as her heart descends deeper into her body

Eventually, she parks the car she stole in the Misthaven General Hospital, knowing she won’t be able to drive while finishing her memory.

‘Two days later Officer Black comes to our door telling us that they found Dad’s body under the Contempo bridge.’ the girl rests her head on the steering wheel as she felt the tears run down her face, ‘I-I always just assumed that whoever killed dad killed Blake but… Blakes body was never found.’

 

Olivia calmed herself and looked at herself in the mirror, fixing up her appearance as before leaving the car and locking the doors. She felt her heart rate increase as she entered the hospital and walked up to reception.

The lady behind the desk wasn’t too old, maybe late thirties at most, but she was slightly overweight and wearing one too many layers of makeup for Olivia's tastes, but considering the uniform she was wearing, odds are she was doing what she could with what little freedom she had within rules.

 

The receptionist looked at Olivia and asked for her name.

She responded ‘Olivia Denver.’

‘I assume you’re here to see Blake?’ the Blonde haired woman asked.

‘Yes!’ Olivia yelled, before realising that she might come across as too desperate, ‘I mean… yes…’

The Woman rolled her eyes, ‘Room seventy-three, on the fifth floor.’

 

Olivia didn’t even say thank you as she ran towards the elevator, frantically pressing the number five button on the elevator button door as she felt her blood run cold. The closer she got to him, the more nervous she got. She wanted to see him, she needed to see him but she didn’t know what to say when she did see him. What if he didn’t recognise her? What if he didn’t know what to say? What if he wasn’t ready to speak? What if She didn’t recognise him?. That last thought made her shiver. The thought that the Blake she was about to meet wasn’t the one that she knew.

 

The elevator doors opened. The corridors were empty, with the familiar white lights leading her vision down the hallway to the door at the end of it. Room seventy-three. Her face went pale and she felt terribly sick. Was she really that nervous? Perhaps even a little afraid to speak with her brother again? No. she couldn’t let these thoughts overpower her. She had to see him. She had to know it was really him. She had to have proof. Each step she took closer to the door felt heavier and heavier and when her hand finally touched the handle, the metal felt cold.

 

She prepared herself for what lay behind the door by taking a few deep breaths and cleaning herself up a bit more. Ever so slowly, she opened the door, and when she did she peaked in to see an empty bed. Was she lied too? Olivia opened the door further, letting some of the hallway light enter the empty room. Her eyes scanned the room before seeing the silhouette of a skinny man with messy short hair looking out the hospital window.

‘Blake?’ she asked hesitantly, ‘I-Is that you?’

  
The figure turned around and stepped into the light. His hair was the same black as his sisters, but unlike her Tan skin, he was a few shades lighter. This contrasted with their eyes as he was a darker shade of brown compared to his sister, and his facial structure was more sharp with slight facial hair as if he hadn’t shaved in a few days. He looked taller than Olivia remembered. Blake smiled slightly at his sister who was now in tears.  
‘Hey, Olivia.’

  
  
  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  


**Chapter I  
Welcome Home**

Blake walked into the entrance of the home that he grew up in a stranger. He recognised every floorboard and every room, from the entrance to the basement to the attic. His dark eyes scanned every surface, noticing the occasional new picture or paperwork lying around. One particularly stood out to him. As he approached and picked up the image he began to process the implications. The image showed Blake’s mother, Catherine Denver who -like Olivia and Blake- had brown eyes and brown hair that was long and reached to about her waist when it was tied up standing alongside who was once his father's best friend: Jerome Hughs. Jerome was a man roughly as tall as Blake last he remembered, with blonde hair and green eyes.  His sister was in the background, obviously upset by something.

 

‘So they finally discharged you?’ a familiar voice said from behind. Blake placed the image down and as if the image had turned to reality, Jerome stood in the hallway leading towards the kitchen and dining room.

‘You look shorter than I remember.’ Blake responded

‘You look taller and more muscular,’ Jerome placed his hand on Blakes' shoulder, ‘is there a gym wherever you disappeared too?’

Blake smiled lightly ‘Not exactly.’

 

Jerome led Blake to the lounge room. There were a few new paintings, one of Hou Yi shooting down the nine suns and another that depicted Orpheus descending into the underworld to save his love from death. The lounge was still the black leather couch that only three years ago you would have found Blake sleeping on after school. He smiled at the memories of his mother waking him up and telling him to do his homework.

Jerome interrupted this memory ‘So what's it like to be back here after being away so long?’

Blake sighed as he sat down on the couch; it felt uncomfortable to him now.

‘You know… it's honestly scary.’

‘Why do you say that?’ he asks as he sat down on the chair adjacent to Blake.

Blake closed his eyes for a second and thought carefully about how he was going to say it. Finally, he explained ‘while this is my home, it almost feels different.’ he leaned forward and stared into the air, ‘I’m not used to this atmosphere anymore and just by looking at the place it feels like…’

There was silence for a moment. ‘It just feels different now.’

 

‘Like going to a cinema expecting to see one movie but instead you see another because all the tickets are sold out?’ Jerome asked.

Blake chuckled ‘I mean if that's how you understand it then I won’t argue with it’.

 

More small talk similar to this continued for a while until Blake asked Jerome where his mother and sister were. Jerome sighed a little and rubbed his hand over his face.

‘When we were told you were discharged, we were told that the person that you are now might not be the same person that we remember from three years ago,’ he started, ‘I’m going to warn you of the same thing.’

Blake nodded acknowledging the shift in tone.

Jerome continued ‘After your disappearance, your sister became a lot more.’

He paused trying to find the right word to use.

Blake cut in ‘Aggressive?’

‘Y-yes, Aggressive.’ Jerome sat up re-gaining his formal posture that Blake would have accustomed to seeing, ‘while her grades in the sciences and especially in Computer sciences and coding firewalls and whatever the kids are doing these days but in all other subject areas she’s failing.’

Blake rolled his eyes ‘that doesn’t tell me how she’s been aggressive’

 

As if on cue the front door was heard opening followed by a small crash.

Blake stood up and went to investigate, only seeing his sister make her way upstairs. He then saw her mother yell for her at the bottom of the stairs until her frustration turned to worry.

‘Is everything okay mum?’ Blake asked as he slowly approached her.

Catherine sighed with her fingers stroking her eyes horizontally, ‘Your sister has gotten herself in another fight’

Blake’s eyes widened ‘Wait, hold up.’ his face contorted from what it was to that of concern. ‘She’s been getting into actual fights? Like school ground style after school fights?’

His mother nodded and looked her son ‘But let's not talk about this right now.’

 

She guided Blake and Jerome to the dining room. ‘So Blake?’

‘Hmm?’

‘What do you want for dinner?’

Blake smiled and held his hands up ‘Don’t look at me, I-I don’t want to interrupt your routine.’

Catherine placed her hands on both of her child's shoulders ‘No, You have been missing from my life for three whole years let me make you something.’

Blake awkwardly looked towards Jerome in a plea for help but he just stood there smiling. There was no getting out of this and they both knew it.

 

A few hours passed and everyone was sitting at the table eating Pizza. Everyone sat where Blake remembered them sitting, save for Jerome who now sat where his father once sat.

Blake was smiling like an idiot, ‘I still love this as much, no maybe more then I remember it tasting.’

Olivia laughed a bit ‘You are still such a slob after three years away’

Catherine chimed in ‘Oh cut it out, we don’t know what he’s gone through’

‘No, its okay mum,’ Blake said before he wiped his face with his arm.

Jerome Chimed in ‘Speaking of, you never said where you were for those three years.’

 

The table went silent, Blakes smile faded into one of deep sadness.

‘And I don’t want to talk about where I was either.’

Olivia, who was now playing with the edge of her placemat quietly said ‘Well I mean you have… changed I kinda want to know as well.’

Blakes dark eyes turned towards her ‘I’m not the only one who has changed, I didn’t realise that you were getting into fights at school.’

‘Blake!’ Catherine called in disapproval.

‘I didn’t realise you had become such a critic towards others since you had left,’ Added Jerome.

As quickly as Jerome finished that statement Blake lashed back. ‘And I didn’t realise you wanted to sleep with my mother Jerome.’

Olivia chuckled before his gaze looked over her again. The table once again returned to silence, Everyone coping in different ways to the tension.

 

Blake finally decided to break the silence after a minute had passed, ‘can I be excused?’

His mother nodded and as he stood to go to his room Olivia grabbed onto his arm.

She hesitantly apologised. Blake was frozen for a second as he looked at her sister. He wanted to hug her but at the same time, he needed to be left alone for a bit or at least try to get some sleep. He pulled his arm from her grasp as he walked into his room.

 

As Blake walked into his room he pulled a book from his pocket with green marking on it. The marking was of the alchemic symbols for Earth, Fire, Sulfur, Mercury and Salt overlapped to make one alchemic symbol. When he opened the book the marking on the open palm of his left wrist started glowing until the book was opened. He read over a few of the pages, until he made his way to a list.

‘My father's dying wish was to ensure that you do not succeed in your crimes against this city,’ he reminded himself as his eyes looked to the first person on the list, ‘Frazer Akerly’.

 

Blake opened his laptop which he had not opened in three years only to see the last thing he had open: “Ten Vigilante’s you should stay clear of” on youtube. It was on number three: “The Green Arrow.”

He chuckled ‘I wonder how many more have popped up.’

Quickly opening up a new tab, he searched for Frazer and found several scandals surrounding the Manager of a Lexcorp subsidiary called “LEXChemical”. While most of Lexcorp was known to be corrupt, this Particular Branch in Misthaven seemed clean up until a month ago when someone leaked a project to the press called “Decomposition”.

According to the several sources that Blake could find, the plan to remove toxic waste into the sewers of the city was the Brainchild of Mr.Akerly himself.

 

Frazer was a man of Asian heritage who was bald and somewhat overweight, and judging by the photos of him, Blake thought he looked like he was roughly 5’9 in height.

The boy chuckled at the thought of him dressed as an umpa-lumpa.

‘Well Frazer, It looks like you’re gonna be the first to die.’

After a few more hours of research, he closed his laptop and laid on his bed, trying to sleep.

 

In his bed he tossed and turned throughout the night, having flashes back to Limbo. He would see blackness then a green light that guided him through a black cave, leading him to see a figure in a hood with a Blue cross on his hand. Suddenly he opened his eyes and saw someone over him. As quickly as he opened his eyes he threw the person to the ground and knelt over them as his left hand lit up with a green flame, his eyes quickly scanning the room for threats. When he looked back he realised he had just hurt his sister, who now looked at him in a mixture of shock and awe. Blakes fire faded as he hugged Olivia tightly.

‘I’m so sorry, I-I didn’t know it was you’ He mumbled through tears.

She hugged him back, ‘It’s okay Blake your home now.’

she gently rubbed his back as they heard everyone else in the house approach the entrance to his room.

Blake quickly said ‘You do not tell anyone what you saw okay?’

Olivia nodded as the hug broke off, everyone else now in the doorway.

 

Blake looked at everyone then to his feet, wiping the tears from his eyes as he sat on his bed looking at everyone.

His mother spoke first ‘Blake are you alright?’

He sniffled then looked to his sister, ‘Olivia just gave me a fright is all’

‘He was tossing and turning and screaming in his sleep mum.’ Olivia Explained. Blake felt his blood run cold.

‘Well…’ Jerome started, ‘We’re just down the hall if you need us.’

The boy nodded watching his parents walk back to their rooms, only leaving Olivia who stood up and walked towards the door.

Before she finally closed the door she told Blake ‘Tomorrow after I’m back from school, we need to talk.’

 

**Author's Note:**

> Huh... It looks so much different after you copy and paste it from Google docs...
> 
> Comments, Feedback and anything else are appreciated. At this stage, I'm willing to throw around Ideas and even implement characters in later chapters. Only rule is if you have a character suggestion or Ideas (Love interest for Blake, Villians, etc.) DM my Twitter @zarkwartz
> 
> This chapters Trivia is about Blake:  
> Blake, before his disappearance, was doing Ancient History as a subject at school and often found himself particularly drawn to Myth.


End file.
